Game 1 referee announced for Leafs/Lightning; Leaf fans aren't happy
We're neither confirming nor denying that there is a referee controversy on our hands but with Wes McCauley reffing tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning to open up the series, there is a checkered past to be wary about.
Sheldon Keefe and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been apart of some controversial calls and miscalls with Wes McCauley right at the forefront. Let's not forget the infamous interference penalty on John Tavares' potential game tying goal in game 7 of last year's first round. It was a tough call at a critical juncture of the game with Justin Holl sidestepping himself in front of Anthony Cirelli, right before Tavares ripped one past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Let bygones be bygones I guess, because that play could've gone either way and with how fast the game is played, it's tough to make a judgement call on the spot - while not having it reviewable.
This year things haven't been any different as Keefe was actually fined 25,000$ for comments he made directed towards McCauley during a December tilt against the St.Louis Blues. Jordie Benn was actually interfered with - very obvious miscall - right before the the St.Louis Blues scored the game tying goal. Holl made no attempt at shoving or using his arm against the Lightning last year but in this instance there was conclusive evidence that Justin Faulk was going for the hit on Benn.
Later in that same game, Zach Aston-Reese was clearly high-sticked by Brandon Saad, which resulted in blood, which should've given the Leafs a 4-minute power play. Instead, play continued as McCauley was "unaware" of what had happened. There was only a few minutes remaining in regulation of a tied game but fortunately for them that night, they were able to escape the clutches of McCauley with a 5-4 overtime victory courtesy of William Nylander.
Keefe was already irate with the missed interference call and he only became further unhinged after the missed high-stick on Aston-Reese. He had some choice words for McCauley on both instances and eventually was handed a fine.
Now that they are set to meet one another in a playoff match, let's hope things have cooled off considerably between the two because the last thing the Leafs need is a phantom penalty called against them to allow the 3rd best power play onto the ice. Or the other way around, where they have a missed penalty, that doesn't allow them to bring out the 2nd best power play unit in hockey.
We've already seen Michael Bunting receiving phantom calls against him that have resulted in opposition power plays or seeing him being tackled and pinned by the opposition, only for both teams to have to serve coincidental minors.
Just something to keep an eye on ahead of tonight's matchup.
